Manchester United would never have existed were it not for a little girl and her love for a dog
Most Reds know the club was originally known Newton Heath LYR, but we hazard to guess not many know the story behind what led to history-defining name change.
Manchester United is one of if not the biggest football club in the world when it comes to its global fanbase, second only maybe to the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say how they were founded has nothing on the story of how the Red Devils came to be.
As most Reds and plenty of football fans, in general, will already know, they didn’t always go by Man United and before they were known as such, the club was called Newton Heath LYR FC — LYR denoting the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company workers that decided to put together the football team.
However, it wasn’t until 1902 that they swapped their green and gold strips for the now iconic red kit and the name was changed to Manchester United. As for the story behind why, Man United’s origins can be traced back to one single reason: a lost dog and a girl who fell in love with it.
As detailed in an episode of the BBC’s old current affairs programme Nationwide from 1973, the whole thing started when wealthy business John Henry Davies, a Manchester-based brewer, came across a St. Bernard wandering around one of his pubs and left his daughter to look after it.
J H Davies went on to become not only United’s owner but the chairman of the Manchester Brewery Company as well.
As daughter Elsie Partington, 84, goes on to explain, the precious pup named ‘Major’ was found on Oxford Road after getting lost at a dog show as part of a Newton Heath’s fundraising event, and it was only after the Davies family checked his collar that they were able to get in touch with the owners.
ADVERTISEMENT
Just 12 at the time, Elsie confessed she feel in love with the dog and “worshipped” it, so much so that upon returning it to the owner — one Harry Stafford — her father asked what it would take for him to keep the dog for his little girl.
Despite initially refusing, insisting that he “wouldn’t sell that dog for anything in the world” and regaling her father with the story of how Major saved both him and a drowning man at sea, Stafford was eventually persuaded after J H Davies promised to buy the club and invest in its future.
ADVERTISEMENT
In exchange for giving him the dog as a birthday present for his daughter, Davies helped them move from the boggy North Road fields next to the chemical works in Clayton to a brand-new ground known as Bank Lane, brought in new players and appointed Stafford not as the club’s director.
J H DaviesHarry StaffordThese two men, and a dog, quite literally founded Manchester United as we know it today. (Credit: Man United/Matthew Johnson)
And the rest, as they say, is history and although Man United may no longer bear the same name of colours as its Newton Heath, the two clubs are forever intertwined as one and the same thanks to their incredible and quite unbelievable origins.
Cut to modern day and that small nearly bankrupt club created a bunch of railway workers who simply loved having a kickabout is now a multi-billion-pound sporting franchise and footballing success story known around the world that has enjoyed some of the richest history any team could ever hope for.
ADVERTISEMENT
And it all started with a St. Bernard called Major.
They say dogs are man’s best friends — that goes twice for United fans.
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Danny Jones -
14th July 2023 
